391 - My First Trip to Europe VIII

Well, Mom’s still in the hospital.. no idea when she’s getting out.

Back to the story:

One picture I forgot to post, was before we got to the pub, I looked back up the street and saw this:

More on the arch later, but it was extremely cool to see it up close and personal.

After leaving the Irish pub, we walked down the Champs Elysee and I was amazed at shop after shop after shop of high-end stores (Hermes, Louis Vuitton.. etc) and we reached the restaurant I listed below.

We settled in to a nice table overlooking the Champs Elysee, and it was then that I realized, the Maitre’ D handed me a menu, in French! Now, I knew I couldn’t bluff my way through the ordering process, and I think they told the Maitre’ D in French that they were giving me a good ole fashioned ribbing. After a few moments, the waiter comes around and asks me something in French, (which I assume is “would you like a drink before dinner"), to which I replied “Martini Blanc sil vous plait”, and it was at that point, everyone burst out laughing. Seems he was asking me something completely different and I threw my hands in the air, laughing saying “I give up”… and at that point, the Maitre’ D came around the corner with a menu in English for me.

Oh, the guys DID make me order the bottle of wine before dinner, and I seem to have done pretty well! 

That’s me, Jean-Philippe, Bernd and Hubert sitting there toasting my first real Parisian meal in a nice restaurant.

Dinner was everything I expected, and more. The food was delicious, the company was outstanding, and the evening ended all too soon.

Hubert gave me and Bernd a ride back to our hotel as Jean-Philippe took mass transit home.

More soon…!